Shalom, what a cruel turn of events. Last week we got to sample 50 degrees outside and today we wake up to snow and wind. The poor neighborhood ducks are huddled in a little pool of water in the corn field and probably wondering why they returned so early from the warmth. Our text for Sunday is still in the Gospel of John. Last week we learned of a great teacher in Israel who was having a difficult time understanding what Jesus was saying. This week we have the opposite, a Samaritan woman that Jesus encounters at a well during his travels. Remember the themes in John we had last week? There is another to be added to the list. Dr. Wendt has pointed out that another theme exists in John, that of replacement. “In John 2:1-11 Jesus replaces the purification rites, in 3:1-17 with Nicodemus Jesus replaces the mode of entry into God’s people and in our text for Sunday he replaces the cult of Samaria that had to do with worship on Mt. Gerizim with himself.” In fact, in the Gospel of John, Jesus is replacing most everything with himself. To understand the story we need some background information. When traveling the Jewish people didn’t like to go through Samaria and the Samaritans didn’t want them to, they hated each other. The two groups had an age old fight about the proper location for worship. The Jews considered the Samaritans to be half-breeds because after the Assyrian invasion the remaining Jews had intermarried with the Assyrian settlers, they weren’t a pure race anymore. The Samaritans only thought the first five books of the bible were authoritative and they believed that their father Jacob, who had dug a well in their land, had authorized worship to be on Mt. Gerizim. The Jews were a pure race and they contended that Worship was to be in Jerusalem on Mt. Zion where the Temple was located. So the two groups of people were quarreling over who the “true” people of God were and where the correct location to worship God was. The problem would arise when Jews wanted to travel between Galilee, in the north, to Jerusalem, in the south. Would the Samaritans allow them to travel through their territory or would they have to go east and travel along the Jordan River which added more time onto the journey.
V5-6 Jesus is traveling north to Galilee from the place where his disciples and John had been baptizing people. The Pharisees were trying to stir up trouble for them by keeping track of how many each party was baptizing and who was the most successful. They were attempting to pit Jesus’ group against Johns’. If they could instigate infighting perhaps the whole movement would crumble. Jesus and his disciples leave to make Johns’ ministry less difficult. They travel through Samaria. There wasn’t much water in Samaria, not many rivers at all, only wells dug by their ancestors with which to get water. After traveling in the heat of the day they come to the well dug by Jacob, later named Israel. The well is by Sychar, possibly the Shechem of the Old Testament. Jesus, tired by the journey, is sitting on the well while his disciples went into the town to get food as it is noon (full daylight). This location would have been at the foot of Mt. Gerizim and the Samaritan Temple.
V7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus should have moved 20ft. away indicating it was safe and culturally appropriate for her to approach. He didn’t. Instead he asks her for a drink. As Kenneth Bailey has pointed out Jesus does four things; 1. A Rabbi was not to be in the presence of a woman by himself let alone talk with her-he breaks a social taboo possibly damaging his reputation, 2. He ignores the hostility between the two groups, 3. He humbles himself and needs her services-he will drink from her ritually unclean bucket and 4. He elevates her self worth. But why is she there drawing water at noon when the time to draw water was in the morning and evening? She is avoiding the women of the community because she is in shame.
V9 She is confused; he isn’t following the cultural norms. She asks him how he a Jew can drink from the unclean bucket of a Samaritan woman. The unsaid question is; why are you talking to me?
V10 Jesus diverts her question to a deeper understanding of himself and who he is. She sees a Jewish man breaking cultural norms. Jesus says if you really knew who was talking to you and asking for a drink you would ask me, Jesus, for living water. The gift of God for the Samaritans was the Torah, for the Jews it was the Torah and the Prophets both saw it as the gift of a book but Isaiah 42:6 states the gift of God is a person-JESUS. The living water was the revelation that Jesus brings; new life in an arid area. They are physically in an arid area with a well of water-a metaphor for what Jesus was teaching. Jesus is breaking the division between Jews and Samaritans.
V11-12 She is literal. You don’t have a bucket, the well is deep. Living water was the description for moving water-a river-not cistern water. Where is this river you are talking about? Jacob dug and used this well for water, are you greater than him? This is a challenge to Jesus, (both Jews and Samaritans claimed Jacob as their father) how can you be greater than Jacob. She is totally confused; there isn’t a river nearby just arid countryside.
V13-14 Jesus responds that this physical water from the well will not satisfy her, she will have to drink again but the living water he offers,himself, will quench her spiritual thirst. In Isaiah 44:1-5 God links the pouring out of water with the pouring out of the Spirit, knowledge of himself. Jesus’ living water from God will give eternal life. Jesus is the living water, the gift from God. In other words, if you knew who I was and that I was sent from God to reveal who he is you wouldn’t be concerned about this physical water in this well you would thirst for the knowledge about God.
V15 She wants the water but is she still thinking physical water that is fresher than that in the well or is she thinking Jesus? She is thinking literal water so she doesn’t have to keep returning to the well. Maybe Jesus has secret knowledge of a good fresh water supply. She is unsure and jesting.
V16 Jesus issues a command to her, go call your husband and come back.
V17-18 She denies that she has a husband but she doesn’t admit that she is living with a man and by law should be stoned. Jesus agrees with her statement. He doesn’t condemn her. Jesus then continues to describe her living situation to her. He confronts her with herself. This is always an uncomfortable spot to be in when someone sees through you to the person you really are. We don’t want to be faced with who we really are, we like the facade we put up for others, the mask we wear.
V19-24 When confronted with herself she changes the topic to the correct location for worship. They are at the foot of Mt. Gerizim. Jesus is kind to her and doesn’t rebuke her change. From Jesus’ description of her living arrangements she knows he is a prophet, so if a prophet has come would he settle this worship site argument. She is deflecting his attention from her to a more general argument. Isn’t that human nature? When being confronted, deflect attention from ourselves to another hot button issue so we don’t have to feel uncomfortable? He doesn’t debate her but describes a time coming when location of worship won’t matter. The time is coming when the location won’t be important but the object of worship will be the focus. Worship won’t be external formalities but focus on God in spirit and truth.
V25 Again she evades the issue. If this prophet won’t answer my question maybe the expected Messiah will answer it when he arrives.
V26 Jesus declares I Am, the Old Testament term for God. I am the Messiah you are waiting for. By using the Old Testament name for God, Jesus is saying the Messiah is also God. God, in the person of the Messiah, has come and is talking with you now.
V27 The disciples return from town. They see he is breaking taboos by speaking with this woman but no one asks.
V28-29 The woman leaves her water jar and returns to the city. She says to people they need to come and see a man who knew her entire past. Is he the Messiah? The people leave to go out to the well and see Jesus. This is an amazing turn of events for this woman. Initially she avoids people out of shame and now she is talking to anyone who will listen; compelling them they need to go to the well. She, a woman, is witnessing for Jesus. Women weren’t allowed to be witnesses in a court of law so who will listen to her?
V30, 39 The people leave the city and go out to him. They did accept her witness.
V31-34 In the mean time the disciples are urging Jesus to eat. He replies that he has food they don’t know about. So the disciples think maybe Jesus got food from someone else. They are confused. Jesus responds that the food that really matters is to do the will of his father. It is more important and urgent that he teach about his father than eat physical food. It is more important that this woman realize who he is and what he is doing than eat.
V35 He then looks out over the fields of grain growing around them and comments on the coming harvest. He turns his attention to the coming crowd from town and compares them to that harvest. The people coming are ripe for harvesting, learning. Some have planted the seed while others get to harvest the grain and so it is with people. Some have done the initial teaching and others get to see people accept Jesus. The disciples will reap a crop they didn’t produce.
V40-42 The fellow towns people ask him to stay with them and he does for two days. Many come to belief and the realization that he is the Savior of the World.
As Kenneth Bailey has points out “Jesus reveals himself in progression to her: a thirsty man, a Jew, a Rabbi, a Prophet and finally a divine Messiah”. He didn’t condemn her or rebuke her; he just brought her along in her understanding of who he was by using images that were around them. This is different from his meeting with Nicodemus. Jesus did rebuke him but still revealed a progression of what he was teaching. A teacher of Israel should have more understanding. This is a contrast. Nicodemus, one who knew all the correct scriptures, was in the dark about who Jesus was. An unlearned Samaritan woman who lived in shame saw the noonday light revealing the identity of Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Nicodemus questioned, she accepted.
Are you Nicodemus or the Samaritan woman? Are you in the dark or the light?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment